Don't Be Fancy, Be Gentle
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: Queen Elinor contemplates on how to adapt to her new self, and with advice from her daughter, decides to start by taking humbling advice on the conduct of women from a certain holy book.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Brave or any other Pixar movies or characters. They are the property of Disney and Pixar. This fan fiction, though, does belong to me.

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_"[Women,] don't depend on things like fancy hairdos or gold jewelry or expensive clothes to make you look beautiful. Be beautiful in your heart by being gentle and quiet. This kind of beauty will last, and God considers it very special."_ - **1 Peter 3:3-4, CEV**

It was one day after the "bear incident" in Scotland. Queen Elinor stood in her nightgown before her wardrobe mirror as she contemplated what to wear that day.

On so many days in the distant past, it had been difficult for her to find the right dress for the right occasion, though she had most frequently worn her regal green dress in the recent past. She had known that it was important for a queen to look as elegant as possible, which was why she also always wore her long, black hair in braids, to look beautiful. That was the proper protocol of her kingdom for generations.

Elinor used to try to impress this on her daughter Merida as well. But Merida had always hated the fancy formal dresses and preferred to dress more casually, in her simple blue dress. She never fixed her hair up, either, liking it to flow down in its natural curly state. Elinor once thought that was unbecoming of a princess, and would get in feuds with Merida over it to no end.

But now, after the humbling experience of being a bear and being utterly deprived of her regality for a time, she was beginning to reconsider. Merida stubbornly stuck to her gut feeling that being a fancy royalty was not for her, and she did everything she could to shrug it off. She still had to deal with being a queen ultimately, of course, but she wanted to do things her own way. And now, Elinor knew that her brave little Merida was much more beautiful because she had a beautiful heart, and after they reconciled, her heart was even more beautiful than before.

Elinor ran one hand along her gown, and the other through her very long, dark hair. "That was another of my problems," she thought to herself. "I had a beautiful face and body and a beautiful wardrobe, and beautiful braids for my hair, but my heart wasn't as pure as it was supposed to be. That was a part of my arrogance, thinking that by looking good I could be on top of the world. What a fool I was!" She wept into her hands and sat on the bed.

"Mum?" a voice said from the doorway. Startled, Elinor walked to the doorway and answered it. It was Merida.

"My brave little girl," she gushed, "Please, come in! Please, sit with me! I need your help with something."

"What is it, mum?" Merida asked as they sat together on the bed, facing each other.

Elinor thought about how to begin. "It's like this, Merida. You've changed me so, and I love you so much for it. Apparently, I've changed you a wee bit, too. But I feel like I haven't been living up to the proper image of a queen or a mother, and I wonder how that can be solved."

"What do _you_ think may be the problem, mum?" asked Merida.

"Well, the reason I sit before you in my nightgown right now instead of one of my queen's gowns is because I can't bring myself to wear the sorts of things I wore before we made up, dear daughter. At the same time, though, I know I can't walk around naked either, because a queen isn't allowed to look that way, and I don't like my glory to be seen by anyone except the king, our sons, and you."

"But why can't you wear the clothes of a queen, like you used to?" Merida asked her mother.

"Because it reflected how awful I was to you before," said Elinor sadly, "I know you somehow had a purer heart than I did, because you were not fashion-obsessed like me, and you were a good person, too."

Merida thought about it for a moment. "Mother, I think you were always a good person. You ruled the kingdom as well as dad did, and your loved for the people led many to trust and ally with Scotland," she said. "But maybe this will help. Do you remember the Bible stories, and the guidelines for Jewish and Christian living within it?"

"Yes, I do," said Elinor, snapping out of her sadness a little, "The Bible was one of my favorite books. In fact, it still is. Fergus and I keep a copy in our dresser, and we read it whenever our spirits need uplifting, or we want to feel closer to God and Jesus."

"Well, I seem to recall that in 1 Peter, chapter 3, Saint Peter talks about how women, especially wives, should have beautiful hearts, and not be so obsessed with their bodies or their clothes or jewelry," said Merida, "I have a feeling you don't remember this, mum, but you read me that passage when I was seven years old, and I always thought that was true. It's part of the reason I can't stand those tight dresses and headgear you used to make me wear. I think a girl can be beautiful without them, even though beauty was never one of my greater concerns in life."

"So," Elinor said hopefully, "You think that someone can be beautiful if they give up the fancy dresses and live in humble clothes?"

"There's more to it than that, mum," Merida explained, "1 Timothy also says that women should dress modestly, and they should be quiet and gentle, too. That's something I was even worse at than you, until now. I think both of us have learned to be gentle, quiet and kind because of our adventures, mum, not just you."

Elinor finally started to smile. She said, "You are right, my brave little one. My time as a bear did teach us both to be more gentle with each other. I think that God, whoever He is, is very pleased with the two of us now. And I want my appearance and wardrobe to reflect the new Queen Elinor, not the old one. I've decided what to wear for today now." And with that, she got up and returned to the wardrobe, and with some assistance from her daughter, she put on a simple but lovely blue dress that she would continue to wear for more than one day. She also let her hair flow down her back, unbraided, though she did put a hair clip to keep her hair out of her eyes. She turned to Merida, and her brown eyes shone.

"There!" she said, "I will be a fancy queen no more, and I will no longer be exposed as a naked babe, either. I give my life and my love to my family, but most of all to my daughter, Merida, to whom I intend to be the best mother ever!"

Merida hugged Elinor, and they kissed each other on the face many times, as before when she was saved from the bear curse. "I love you, mum," said Merida happily.

"I love you back, my brave daughter," said Elinor.

"Don't give me all the credit for being brave, mum," said Merida with a smile, "You were mighty brave yourself, when you faced Mor'du and saved me from him."

"Perhaps," said Elinor, "But my bravery doesn't quite compare to yours, Merida. Now, what do you say we go and make the new tapestry?"

"That would be wonderful," said Merida, and the two happy family members, mother and daughter, walked out of the chambers to make a new tapestry to replace the one Merida had torn up.

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**A/N:** This could have been better, I know, but I'm in love with Queen Elinor and Princess Merida, and I wanted to do a story about them being involved with an original special element, like the above Bible verses. That's mainly because we've all noticed how Elinor changes to a simpler dress and unbraided hair during the movie's final scenes.

**Please R&R! And no flames, please. I don't like being verbally abused by people who hate my fanfics. I plan to write more Pixar fanfics in the future, so please don't make any scathing remarks about them, either, but always feel free to R&R!**


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